Free Cable Knit Hat Pattern

With Fall around the corner, I thought that now would be a good time to post a new pattern for a cable knit beanie. However, when I was in the design process, I realized that I had too many ideas and decided to create a collection of cable knit hat patterns. I’ve been hard at work over the last month designing, testing, and writing up these patterns.

The patterns all call for the same yarn weight and needle sizes so that you don’t have to worry about collecting materials and can focus on practicing the art of cable knitting. The yarn that I chose for these hats is one of my absolute favourite outdoor accessory yarn lines: Knit Picks & We Crochet Wool of the Andes worsted weight yarn. This yarn is not only affordable, squishy, incredibly insulating, and soft – but the colour palette is to dye for! These hats are all knit with the Wool of the Andes Tweed line, but I did test them with the regular Wool of the Andes Worsted weight yarn too incase you are not a fan of tweed or prefer solid colours.

The pattern that I’m posting here is from this collection and I consider it the simplest, most beginner friendly pattern in the collection. If you are new to cable knitting, then I think this is a great one to start with. You do need to have some experience knitting in the round, and with basic stitches like Knit/Purl, and how to decrease by knitting two stitches together to get started.


If you enjoy this pattern, you can purchase the collection from my Etsy or Ravelry Stores, or directly from this site as well by clicking the button below.



Zahira Cable Knit Beanie Pattern:

Free Cable Knit Hat Pattern

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Materials:

  • Approximately 1.25 skeins (140 yards) of Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Tweed Worsted Weight Yarn Colours in photos are (Down Heather and North Pole Heather).
  • Size 4 (3.5 mm) 16” circular knitting needles.
  • Size 8 (5 mm) 16” circular knitting needles.
  • Size 8 (5 mm) double pointed knitting needles.
  • Cable Needle.
  • Stitch markers.
  • Scissors.
  • Yarn needle for weaving in ends.
  • Pompoms and buttons (optional).
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Size:

Adult (head circumference 22 inches).

Gauge:

5 rows, 4.5 stitches = 1 inch in stockinette stitch (Size 8/5mm needles).

Free Cable Knit Hat Pattern

Notes:

This hat is knit in the round on circular knitting needles, switching to double pointed needles when necessary during the decreasing of stitches for shaping the top.

Abbreviations and Special Stitches:

K: Knit.

P: Purl.

K2Tog: Knit two stitches together decrease.

C6F: Cable 6 Front – Slip three stitches onto cable needle and hold at the front of your work. Knit the next three stitches on left-hand needle, and then knit the stitches from the cable needle.

Pattern:

Using Size 4 (3.5mm) circular needles, cast on 90 stitches.  Place a stitch marker to mark the beginning of the round and join (being careful not to twist the stitches).

Brim:

Rounds 1-16: *K1, P1; repeat from * to end of round to create 1X1 ribbing for the brim of the hat.

Transfer stitches onto size 8 (5mm) circular needles to knit the remainder of the hat.

Body of Hat:

Rounds 1-8: Knit all stitches.

Round 9: *K1, C6F, K11; repeat from * to end of round.

Round 10-17: Knit all stitches.

Round 18: *K10, C6F, K2; repeat from * to end of round.

Rounds 19-26: Knit all stitches.

Round 27: *K1, C6F, K11; repeat from * to end of round.

Start decreasing to shape the top of the hat (switch to double pointed needles when necessary). 

Decreasing Rounds:

Round 1: K8, K2Tog (81 stitches remain).

Round 2: Knit all stitches.

Round 3: K7, K2Tog (72 stitches remain).

Round 4: Knit all stitches.

Round 5: K6, K2Tog (63 stitches remain).

Round 6: Knit all stitches.

Round 7: K5, K2Tog (54 stitches remain).

Round 8: Knit all stitches.

Round 9: K4, K2Tog (45 stitches remain).

Round 10: Knit all stitches.

Round 11: K3, K2Tog (36 stitches remain).

Round 12: Knit all stitches.

Round 13: K2, K2Tog (27 stitches remain).

Round 14: Knit all stitches.

Continue to Finishing.

Finishing

Cut yarn (leave a long tail) and pull through a yarn needle.  Thread the yarn through the remaining stitches and pull tight to close the hole at the top of the hat.  Tie a knot to secure and follow the instructions below for attaching a pompom or leave the hat as is and weave in all loose ends. 

Attaching a Pompom:

Pompoms can be purchased from online stores or local craft stores (the pompoms for these hats are from Amazon.com and I’ve linked to them along with the super cute Handmade With Love buttons below).  Be sure to purchase a pompom with a small elastic at the bottom for attaching to the hat. 

Step 1: Turn hat inside out and, using the strand of yarn that secured the top of the hat, sew a button to the inside of the hat.

Free Cable Knit Hat Pattern

Step 2: Pull the elastic loop from the pompom through a spot at the top of the hat (a crochet hook works great for this).

How to attach a pompom to a hat.

Step 3:  Pull the elastic over the button to secure the pompom. 

How to attach a pompom to a hat.

Step 4:  Weave in any loose ends and enjoy your new hat!  Switch out pompoms for a different look.

Free Cable Knit Hat Pattern

I hope you enjoyed this free pattern and I am so grateful for your support!  Don’t forget that you can purchase the ad-free PDF file.  Purchasing the PDF file helps support this website and allows me to continue to share my patterns and inspiration with you guys!   

Should you have any issues with the download, please email: [email protected] for assistance. 

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